Bluffton Jr. Open May 17-18

The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour traveled to Bluffton, South Carolina on May 17-18 for the Bluffton Junior Open at Crescent Pointe Golf Club. Both days featured a beautiful sunny sky that allowed for exciting play from all participants. Players competed for Junior Golf Scoreboard Rankings, South Carolina Junior Golf Association Heritage Points and Tarheel Youth Golf Association Points. Additionally, the top ten finishers received points towards year end honors which include state teams, All HJGT teams, and the Hurricane Cup. Winners in each division also received an automatic bid into the 2014 Tour Championship and Mid-Season Invitational.

After two days of fierce competition, Ethan Willis of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina was the Boys 15-18 division winner. Willis carded a first round score of even par, 71 and followed up this performance up by firing a four over, 75 in the final round. Willis had a total score for the weekend of 146. In addition to firing the lowest score in the field, Willis also recorded the most pars or better in the tournament with 27 over the course of 36 holes which included his five birdies. Jonathan Phillips of Hardeeville, South Carolina placed second behind Willis by firing a first round of 77, six over par. He then came back and recorded a second round one over par, 72, for a tournament total of 149. Phillips finished the weekend with four birdies including three in the final round and 23 pars to keep in steady throughout the two days. In third place was Lewis Reid of Scotland, United Kingdom. Reid was consistent over the two days firing a 75 in both rounds making his tournament total a 150. After overcoming four bogeys on his front nine of the final day, Reid settled down on his back nine to post an even par 36 with one birdie. He also recorded two birdies during round one.

Outlasting the field to capture first in the Girls 15-18 division was Kayla Smith of Middleburg, Florida. After fighting off a tough first day of 87, Smith came back to card a 78 in the final round to cruise to a victory for a total of 165. She finished atop the leaderboard by ten strokes. Smith’s lone birdie came in round two as she was more consistent overall with twelve pars and only two bogeys. Helping Smith the most throughout the weekend was her bogey free streak of five holes in the final round. She was also the leader in par four scoring. Taylor Mayers of Summerville, South Carolina placed second this weekend. She was able to card an 86 in the first round followed by a second round of 89 which brought her weekend score to 175. Mayers score for the weekend is the best score she has posted in her three HJGT tournaments this year. She recorded one birdie on the weekend during the first round. Finishing in third place was Meredith Langs of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. She posted a first round score of 89 and a final round score of 88 which gave her 177 total on the weekend. She carded 12 pars in the tournament.

Drew Weary of Bluffton, South Carolina became the Boys 11-14 division winner at Crescent Pointe picking up the win in his hometown. He fired a five over 76 in round one, and bettered that in the final round, recording an even par 71. This gave him a tournament total of 147. He recorded four birdies on the weekend including two in his two under back nine during the final round that secured his win. In a three way tie for second in this age group scoring a total of 158 were Daniel Azallion of Hilton Head, South Carolina, Walker Jones of Sumter, South Carolina and Jackson Toole of Lyons, Georgia. Azallion carded duel rounds of 79 that included four birdies. Jones posted rounds of 77 on day one and 81 on day two. He had two birdies on the weekend, one each round. Toole posted a first round 78, which included the only eagle of the tournament on the par five, 17th hole. In the second round he recorded an 80 and finished with five birdies on the weekend.

Winning easily was Christine Scholten of the Netherlands in the Girls 11-14 division. She fired rounds of 96 and 101 for a weekend total of 197. Scholten recorded 10 pars during the tournament, which included a three hole bogey free streak. Lexi Lucarelli of Moncks Corner, South Carolina finished second behind Scholten. Lucarelli had a first round 128 and bounced back with a second round 122, which gave her a 250 total for the weekend. Lucarelli posted one birdie in the tournament which occurred during the first round on the par three, fifth hole.
Weather:
Day 1- High of 84, low of 65 with sunny skies and a slight breeze
Day 2- High of 80, low of 60 with sunny skies and a slight breeze
Tournament Yardage:
Boys 15-18: 6,707 yards
Boys 11-14: 6,073 yards
Girls 11-18: 5,557 yards
About us:
The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour (HJGT) was founded in 2008 with the intention of providing junior golfers between the ages of 11-18 an opportunity to play exceptional courses in a competitive environment. Golfers who participate on the tour will compete in one of four age divisions: Boys 15-18, Boys 11-14, Girls 11-14 and Girls 15-18. Based out of Jacksonville, FL, the HJGT administers events all across the nation, with stops in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Ohio, Indiana, Virginia, New Jersey, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, and Pennsylvania.
For more information regarding the HJGT 2014 Tour, please visit our website at www.hjgt.org, call the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour headquarters at (904) 379-2697, or email info@hjgt.org.